U of A alum Wyatt Paige Hermansen (they/them) and Mary Lambert (she/her) will visit the U of A for a discussion of queer identities, mental health and how shame inhibits us from living full, joyful lives.

The event will be heldat 6:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 15, at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center.

Lambert is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter best known for her collaboration with Macklemore, "Same Love," as well as her own prolific career as a composer, poet and activist. Both Hermansen and Lambert are diagnosed bipolar and co-host a podcast, The Manic Episodes, in which they have long and often intense discussions about mental health, self-love, queer relationships, fat activism and sobriety. Not ones to shy away from tough conversations, Hermansen and Lambert have taken on issues like sexual assault and consent, eating disorders, social justice issues, effective political activism and their relationship to the church as gay Christians. Hermansen, who identifies as non-binary, often talks about their experiences navigating the professional and academic worlds as someone whose gender identity itself is often a point of political contention.

In their first-ever live event together, Lambert and Hermansen return to Hermansen's old stomping grounds to talk about how to maintain your mental wellbeing while pursuing a degree, how to support a partner who struggles with mental illness, how to be as gay as you can possibly be and how much Whataburger is too much (trick question). Lambert will close the evening with a short set. Complimentary tissues will not be provided, so cry at your own risk.

"Dr. Hermansen and Mary Lambert are brilliant, funny, insightful and life-affirming educators and artists, and I'm thrilled that we are presenting an evening of dialogue and music, exploring and celebrating self-love by way of queer identity, mental health, body positivity and other experiences that are part of the beauty of human diversity," said Leslie Yingling, assistant vice chancellor for Student Success and Multicultural Initiatives and associate dean of students.

Free tickets are now available on the Faulkner Center website.